Concerns about 6w2d u/s

[Erin]

Hi everyone.
I just had my second u/s at 6w2d. Before the midwife started the u/s, she
said that we wouldn't see anything but a sac-- no embryo, no heartbeat.
And that's exactly what we saw, a gestational sac that measured exactly
right (6w2d)... it has grown significantly in a week as at my last u/s the
sac measured only 4w5d.

My concern is this: Everything I've read says that you should see an
embryo and most likely a heartbeat at 6 weeks. We didn't see anything but
a gestational sac and a yolk sac. I'm worried that we should have seen
something if there was something there to see.

I don't know what my hCG levels are; I only had my first quantitative
blood test yesterday and go for another tomorrow. I know that 8DPO (3
weeks pg) my progesterone was 3.6, which corresponded exactly with an
implantation dip in my temperature. I'm still concerned about that.

Should I be worried?

[Ericka Kammerer]

Erin wrote:

> Hi everyone.
> I just had my second u/s at 6w2d. Before the midwife started the u/s, she
> said that we wouldn't see anything but a sac-- no embryo, no heartbeat.
> And that's exactly what we saw, a gestational sac that measured exactly
> right (6w2d)... it has grown significantly in a week as at my last u/s the
> sac measured only 4w5d.
>
> My concern is this: Everything I've read says that you should see an
> embryo and most likely a heartbeat at 6 weeks. We didn't see anything but
> a gestational sac and a yolk sac. I'm worried that we should have seen
> something if there was something there to see.
>
> I don't know what my hCG levels are; I only had my first quantitative
> blood test yesterday and go for another tomorrow. I know that 8DPO (3
> weeks pg) my progesterone was 3.6, which corresponded exactly with an
> implantation dip in my temperature. I'm still concerned about that.
>
> Should I be worried?

Good heavens, no! Why are you having all these
tests done? Is there something in your history that puts
you at higher risk, or have you been having bleeding or
some such thing? This seems like an awful lot of testing,
which often just feeds the worry machine. It is very
common not to see all that much detail with such an
early u/s.

Best wishes,
Ericka

[Vicky Bilaniuk]

Erin wrote:
> My concern is this: Everything I've read says that you should see an
> embryo and most likely a heartbeat at 6 weeks. We didn't see anything but
> a gestational sac and a yolk sac. I'm worried that we should have seen
> something if there was something there to see.

6 weeks is rather early. I had an ultra sound done at 7 weeks and we
saw nothing but a big ball. ;-) At 9 weeks, we saw an embryo and a
heartbeat.

[Jamie Clark]

If your midwife predicted what you'd see, and that is exactly what you saw,
then I wouldn't be worried. Many people see the heartbeat around 6 weeks,
but many more do not, and still go on to have a happy successful pregnancy.
The fact that you saw appropriate growth is a good good thing. I assume
you'll go in next week for another u/s, which should hopefully show more
growth and a happy little flicker.

Good luck!
--

Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03

Check out Taylor Marlys -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest
Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up your own User ID and
Password

Check out our Adoption Page at http://home.earthlink.net/~jamielee6

[Bóliath]

Richard wrote:
> Erin > wrote:
> : Hi everyone.
> : I just had my second u/s at 6w2d. Before the midwife started the u/s, she
> : said that we wouldn't see anything but a sac-- no embryo, no heartbeat.
> : And that's exactly what we saw, a gestational sac that measured exactly
> : right (6w2d)... it has grown significantly in a week as at my last u/s the
> : sac measured only 4w5d.
> :
> We first detected a heartbeat at 8 weeks. That was 27 months ago. A tiny
> part of what we saw became the hand that tapped me on the shoulder this
> morning, waking me from much needed sound sleep.

This made me smile, thanks Richard. Erin, I saw just a sac at 6wks and
then a few days later there was a lovely strong heartbeat. Don't worry -
which I know is easy to say, but seriously try your best to focus on
growing a strong healthy baby and next time you go you'll see that
little pulse and *your* heart will skip a beat!

[Donna Metler]

"Erin" > wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...
> Hi everyone.
> I just had my second u/s at 6w2d. Before the midwife started the u/s, she
> said that we wouldn't see anything but a sac-- no embryo, no heartbeat.
> And that's exactly what we saw, a gestational sac that measured exactly
> right (6w2d)... it has grown significantly in a week as at my last u/s the
> sac measured only 4w5d.
>
> My concern is this: Everything I've read says that you should see an
> embryo and most likely a heartbeat at 6 weeks. We didn't see anything but
> a gestational sac and a yolk sac. I'm worried that we should have seen
> something if there was something there to see.
>
> I don't know what my hCG levels are; I only had my first quantitative
> blood test yesterday and go for another tomorrow. I know that 8DPO (3
> weeks pg) my progesterone was 3.6, which corresponded exactly with an
> implantation dip in my temperature. I'm still concerned about that.
>
> Should I be worried?
>
The OB and CNW both told me not to worry if I didn't see an embryo or a
heartbeat at the 6 week U/S-because at that stage the hCG levels were much
more indicative. The technician said the same thing-and this was with a
Level III transvaginal US scheduled.

I don't think you should panic yet.

[Mary W.]

Erin wrote:

> Hi everyone.
> I just had my second u/s at 6w2d. Before the midwife started the u/s, she
> said that we wouldn't see anything but a sac-- no embryo, no heartbeat.
> And that's exactly what we saw, a gestational sac that measured exactly
> right (6w2d)... it has grown significantly in a week as at my last u/s the
> sac measured only 4w5d.

Sounds good to me. When pregnant with my DD, my OB offered
an early US (I'd miscarried before that and was a little antsy). She
urged me to wait until close to 8 weeks to ensure that we'd see
a heartbeat. I had it at 7w4d and did see the HB. So I think you
are doing just fine.

Mary

[Erin]

Thanks for making me feel better! I need to stop worrying about every
little thing.

Ericka, the original progesterone test was ordered because it took me and
my husband a year get this pregnancy. The OB ordered it and
coincidentially I got pg that month.

I had the first u/s because I had some bleeding at 5 weeks. The midwife
found a polyp on my cervix and said that all the bleeding was because of
that -- so, nothing to worry about there.

I'm not sure why the midwife offered me the hCG tests at the u/s
yesterday. I'm not one to turn down tests, so I agreed, but maybe I
shouldn't have!

We have another u/s scheduled in two weeks, so I'll be 8w2d. Hopefully
we'll see something more concrete. :-)

Thank you all for the reassurance...

[Ericka Kammerer]

Erin wrote:

> Ericka, the original progesterone test was ordered because it took me and
> my husband a year get this pregnancy. The OB ordered it and
> coincidentially I got pg that month.
>
> I had the first u/s because I had some bleeding at 5 weeks. The midwife
> found a polyp on my cervix and said that all the bleeding was because of
> that -- so, nothing to worry about there.
>
> I'm not sure why the midwife offered me the hCG tests at the u/s
> yesterday. I'm not one to turn down tests, so I agreed, but maybe I
> shouldn't have!
>
> We have another u/s scheduled in two weeks, so I'll be 8w2d. Hopefully
> we'll see something more concrete. :-)

I feel a little better that there were some reasons
behind the tests ;-) I was worried that you had a caregiver
who tests, tests, tests. In my experience, that's usually
a fast trip to worry city, because just given the nature
of testing (which is not 100 percent accurate) and all the
vagaries associated with Mother Nature, if you test often
enough, you WILL find seeming anomalies to worry about ;-)
And if you put your faith in good test results to tell
you all is well, it can become a bottomless pit of worry
where you need more and more external reassurance to
feel okay about the pregnancy...and as you do more and
more tests, you eventually find *something* (probably
spurious), when then leads to more worry and interventions,
both of which introduce *real* risk into the pregnancy!
Anyway, just a cautionary tale in these days where testing,
testing, testing is often the order of the day.

Best wishes,
Ericka

[Hillary Israeli]

In utparenting.com>,
Erin > wrote:

*Hi everyone.
*I just had my second u/s at 6w2d. Before the midwife started the u/s, she
*said that we wouldn't see anything but a sac-- no embryo, no heartbeat.
*And that's exactly what we saw, a gestational sac that measured exactly
*right (6w2d)... it has grown significantly in a week as at my last u/s the
*sac measured only 4w5d.

Well, if the midwife said that, maybe she knows something we don't about
the resolution of the machine she was using.

--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large :)

[Erin]

Ericka, you're right. I'm going to really try and just relax. After all,
there's no way I'm ever going to know everything about the pregnancy or
the child after it's born.

This is my one control issue, it's like I HAVE to know everything about
everything. It's ridiculous.

Thank you all. I'm just going to focus on other things and wait (eagerly)
for the u/s next week. :-)

[Ericka Kammerer]

Erin wrote:

> Ericka, you're right. I'm going to really try and just relax. After all,
> there's no way I'm ever going to know everything about the pregnancy or
> the child after it's born.

All too true--they often get *more* mysterious after
they're out ;-)

Have fun,
Ericka

[Ilse Witch]

On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 10:50:03 -0400, Erin wrote:

> I don't know what my hCG levels are; I only had my first quantitative
> blood test yesterday and go for another tomorrow. I know that 8DPO (3
> weeks pg) my progesterone was 3.6, which corresponded exactly with an
> implantation dip in my temperature. I'm still concerned about that.
>
> Should I be worried?

No, not really, but I can understand why you would be. Your progesterone
isn't exactly in the ballpark range of normal, but that in itself doesn't
say very much, especially since it may have been around implantation. The
sac is growing well and measures the right age, which is a good sign. It
is not at all uncommon not to see the embryo at this stage, even with
transvaginal u/s. The yolk sac is much easier to see, since it is floating
free in the middle of the gestational sac. The embryo, however, is usually
to the side and can be hard to distinguish from the edges of the
gestational sac. The results also depend on where it exactly implanted,
and how sharp the u/s machine can "see".

At this stage, a day can make a difference in seeing the embryo or not, so
if you have another u/s scheduled in a week or so, you should see it.
However, if your hCG comes back OK, that would also be a very good sign!

--
-- I
mommy to DS (July '02)
mommy to three tiny angels (28 Oct'03, 17 Feb'04 & 20 May'04)
guardian of DH (33)

[Erin]

Ilse, thanks for mentioning the actualy placement of the embryo. When I
look at pictures from the u/s, I see a somewhat thicker white strip
between the yolk sac and the edge of the gestational sac. I had been
wondering if that might be the embryo.

I have another u/s scheduled when I'll be 8w2d; two weeks past the last
u/s.

Hopefully we'll get hCG results on Monday, although, especially with the
increase in size of the sac, I'm not expecting anything too bad...

Thanks for the information. :-)

[Ilse Witch]

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 22:57:12 -0400, Erin wrote:

> Hopefully we'll get hCG results on Monday, although, especially with the
> increase in size of the sac, I'm not expecting anything too bad...

Keep us posted!!

And best of luck for the next u/s. Although I think if the hCG is OK, your
worries should already be less. I'll keep my fingers crossed all is well.

--
-- I
mommy to DS (July '02)
mommy to three tiny angels (28 Oct'03, 17 Feb'04 & 20 May'04)
guardian of DH (33)